by Kelley Armstrong
Release Date: March 24, 2026
2026 Tundra Books
Ebook ARC; 424 Pages
ISBN: 978-1774888032
ASIN: B0FFFWX9G5
Audiobook: B0GGY4P383
Genre: Fiction / YA / Mystery
Source: Review copy from publisher
3.75 / 4 Stars
Summary
In the wake of her mother's death, Liliana
Chamberlain's estranged (and very wealthy) grandparents swoop in. Or
their lawyer does. Her grandparents aren't ready to meet her, but they
want her to have the life her mother walked away from, starting with
Westwood Academy, the elite boarding school her mother attended.
Westwood Academy is a school of secrets as well as intriguing classmates. As she gets to know them all, Lili realizes there's more to the school than elite-level networking. Something deadly.
For the new girl at school, investigating the deaths of past students is a very dangerous game. Do those deaths have something to do with why her mother fled Westdale at the cost of her inheritance?
My Thoughts
A Deadly Inheritance is one of those books that you kind of have to take with a grain of salt and a bit of a dash of suspension of belief in order to really enjoy it, so that’s exactly how I approached the book after the first few chapters. I told myself I could deal with the coincidences because Liliana was a character that I really liked and was one in which I could really empathize. Yes, her lawyer just happens to show up exactly when the social worker shows up to take her away. Yes, she is whisked to an expensive boarding school. Yes, it is at her grandparents’ request even though she has not met them. Yes, she is the new heiress to a billion dollar fortune. Yes, yes, yes… Ok, I can live with these.
I really enjoyed Lili as a character. She was determined, tough, vulnerable, and intelligent. She took chances, but was also very careful in her choices, making sure she was safe in what she was doing, something I liked as I dislike it when a character constantly walks head first into danger without thinking about what they are doing or who they are putting into danger. She doesn’t have a problem assimilating into the world of the rich and famous although being the heiress of a huge fortune doesn’t hurt her either. Mind you, most of the students at the school come from similar backgrounds so she doesn’t really stand out in that respect and I love it when she fangirls over her friend’s mom who is a famous movie star. I also liked the female relationships Lili develops, ones that are without drama, as so often these books are filled with drama, distrust, and dislike.
And while I really enjoyed both the female and male relationships in this book, I was not a fan of the romance aspect of this book. It’s not that I am opposed to what happened as I am not a prude, nor am I opposed to relationships and sexual feelings in YA novels. My issue is that it didn't quite feel genuine as it happened too quickly, without any development. Plus, I am not a fan of instalust/love. I would have preferred to have seen the emphasis on the development of the friendships first, then the romance.
The plot was fun and I did enjoy it. I didn’t guess the culprit and to be honest, didn’t quite believe the story that was given for the motive, but I did like the consequences of what happened. There were many twists and turns, and to be fair, I am always a sucker for secret societies and just secrets in general, having to do research, and mysterious happenings, so it is not hard for me to get sucked into a story like this. However, there were some huge plot holes in this book as well as things that didn’t quite make sense. And these were things that just couldn’t be overlooked no matter how good the tension or the character development.
Verdict
A Deadly Inheritance was fun to read as there were secrets, secret societies, broken loyalties, murder, and mysteries to solve. And who doesn’t love a boarding school mystery? I did enjoy the character development in this book although I was not a fan of the ‘romance’. And despite the nice tension that was built throughout the story, the plot holes were too numerous to overlook. And while I liked the consequences that happened as a result of the events in this book, I didn’t buy into the reason behind what happened and I definitely didn’t feel the ‘culprit’ was believable. Otherwise, this was an enjoyable read.
I really enjoyed Lili as a character. She was determined, tough, vulnerable, and intelligent. She took chances, but was also very careful in her choices, making sure she was safe in what she was doing, something I liked as I dislike it when a character constantly walks head first into danger without thinking about what they are doing or who they are putting into danger. She doesn’t have a problem assimilating into the world of the rich and famous although being the heiress of a huge fortune doesn’t hurt her either. Mind you, most of the students at the school come from similar backgrounds so she doesn’t really stand out in that respect and I love it when she fangirls over her friend’s mom who is a famous movie star. I also liked the female relationships Lili develops, ones that are without drama, as so often these books are filled with drama, distrust, and dislike.
And while I really enjoyed both the female and male relationships in this book, I was not a fan of the romance aspect of this book. It’s not that I am opposed to what happened as I am not a prude, nor am I opposed to relationships and sexual feelings in YA novels. My issue is that it didn't quite feel genuine as it happened too quickly, without any development. Plus, I am not a fan of instalust/love. I would have preferred to have seen the emphasis on the development of the friendships first, then the romance.
The plot was fun and I did enjoy it. I didn’t guess the culprit and to be honest, didn’t quite believe the story that was given for the motive, but I did like the consequences of what happened. There were many twists and turns, and to be fair, I am always a sucker for secret societies and just secrets in general, having to do research, and mysterious happenings, so it is not hard for me to get sucked into a story like this. However, there were some huge plot holes in this book as well as things that didn’t quite make sense. And these were things that just couldn’t be overlooked no matter how good the tension or the character development.
Verdict
A Deadly Inheritance was fun to read as there were secrets, secret societies, broken loyalties, murder, and mysteries to solve. And who doesn’t love a boarding school mystery? I did enjoy the character development in this book although I was not a fan of the ‘romance’. And despite the nice tension that was built throughout the story, the plot holes were too numerous to overlook. And while I liked the consequences that happened as a result of the events in this book, I didn’t buy into the reason behind what happened and I definitely didn’t feel the ‘culprit’ was believable. Otherwise, this was an enjoyable read.
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